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There Are No Free Lunch Bits or Bytes

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  • Guest.Visitor
    Guest replied
    There Are No Free Lunch Bits or Bytes

    ** This thread discusses the article: There Are No Free Lunch Bits or Bytes **
    Asked what is the most important thing on her mind after release from jail, the sadist sex slayer of schoolgirls (including her own kid sister) said, "a cup of iced capaccino". My daughter always enjoyed Tim Horton but now I will have to ask them never to visit Tim Hortons for miss Homolka might be in one of them. If I were in Tim Horton management, I will seek a stay order and put a sign on all Tim Hortons, "All beasts (including Carla Homolka) not allowed". Sorry to spoil some good moods here but I can't get over the trauma I am in since I heard the news of her relase. I used to live in Stoney Creek (not far from her home) when she killed all those girls. Canadian justice system failed the Mahaffy and French family.

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  • J.Klebanoff
    replied
    There Are No Free Lunch Bits or Bytes

    ** This thread discusses the article: There Are No Free Lunch Bits or Bytes **
    Hans, You obviously don't know me if you think that saying "Don't bother visiting - the site has nothing iSeries related" is going to stop me -- just the opposite. Howdy neighbour! Nice site. You've got a lot of great Toronto photos there. I hope that the mention here doesn't push you over your bandwidth limit (or, if it does, I hope that the advertising revenue from the extra traffic more than covers it. Sorry, I didn't click on any of the Google ads. I guess I'm one of those freeloaders that I complained about.)

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  • H.Boldt
    replied
    There Are No Free Lunch Bits or Bytes

    ** This thread discusses the article: There Are No Free Lunch Bits or Bytes **
    Great article, Joel! Just to expand on Hassan's point, Tim Horton's is definitely a Canadian institution. The surest way for any other coffee shop to go out of business is for a Tim's to move into the neighborhood. Once when I was wandering the streets downtown, a couple of girls asked me where the nearest Tim's was. I didn't know the answer, but I told them that they were sure to run into one if they kept going. I didn't think there was any point to pointing out the Starbucks across the street - I'm sure they noticed it too! Regarding "free" content on the internet, while there will always be companies wanting to make money, there will also be people who are quite happy to provide their own content without expectation of profit. For some, it may just be a hobby. For others, it's the thrill of exposing their face to the world. For others still, it's a way for them to get their goofy ideas out to the world. I'm not sure which of those categories I fall into with my boldts.net web site! (Don't bother visiting - the site has nothing iSeries related!) But I too succumbed to the "dark side", and about a year and a half ago I added advertising. There were a couple of compelling reasons. Sure, the monthly checks from Google are nice, but then again, they're not enough to retire on. My main concern was the potential cost if my site ever got "slashdotted" for whatever reason. At the time, my site was running at about 60% of my monthly bandwidth quota, and so any spike in popularity could well have turned the web site hobby into more of an expense. I figured with ads, my hobby would end up, at least, not costing me anything. (Since then, my ISP more than doubled the standard bandwidth allowance anyways.) Advertising, done properly, can also give a web site more of a sense of legitimacy. And with properly directed ads, can offer the visitor some possibly useful links, saving me that trouble. Anyways, enjoy your long holiday weekend! Cheers! Hans

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  • Guest.Visitor
    Guest replied
    There Are No Free Lunch Bits or Bytes

    ** This thread discusses the article: There Are No Free Lunch Bits or Bytes **
    Joel, I agree with you that there "ain't no free lunch". Somebody somewhere has to pay for the service. I suspect that cafes offering "free" internet, actually bury the cost in prices. People don't seem to mind paying high prices for boutique coffee drinks but scream at the thought of paying for internet access. Go figure. There's a couple of non-franchise shops locally that began charging $3.00 per hour for internet access. This has had two outcomes. First, they can charge less for their drinks and sweets. Second, the customers paying for the access are more reasonable users of the service. They are willing to pay because they see a value attached to it. The old saw that you get what you pay for leads people to believe that "free" internet has no value. So, they figure it's no problem if they sit all day using it to play games and surf. But, when they begin paying for it, they see a value and start becoming more responsible and productive users. As always, this is just my opinion offered up "free". Tom.

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  • J.Klebanoff
    replied
    There Are No Free Lunch Bits or Bytes

    ** This thread discusses the article: There Are No Free Lunch Bits or Bytes **
    "Frequent it often" Did I really say that? Talk about the department of redundancy department. I "frequent it" or "I go there often". Sorry about that. By the way, Happy Canada Day (today, July 1) and an early Happy Independence Day (Monday, July 4). I'm less familiar with other national holidays, but you also have my warmest wishes on those holidays whenever you may celebrate them.

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  • dennis@midmed.com
    replied
    There Are No Free Lunch Bits or Bytes

    ** This thread discusses the article: There Are No Free Lunch Bits or Bytes **
    Back in the "dark ages" when the Internet was in it's infancy, it was mainly a government/educational funded enterprise. So the pockets were deep. Who needed ads? Unfortunately, that is how some people think the 'net still works. They have had their noses stuck to their monitors for so long that they do not realize that life has passed them by. For anyone that falls into that category, please do the following: tear yourself away from your computer, pick up a newspaper or magazine (they still have those don't they?), and see how many pages are without advertising. Get used to it! It is capitalism at work.

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  • J.Klebanoff
    replied
    There Are No Free Lunch Bits or Bytes

    ** This thread discusses the article: There Are No Free Lunch Bits or Bytes **
    Just as an aside, despite being a Canadian, I'm a Starbucks lover and frequent it often. Coffee there costs me a lot more than US $0.80. I know that I might be kicked out of the country for admitting this (despite the fact that Tim Horton's has for years been owned by an American company, Wendy's), but I'm not particularly fond of Tim Horton's and I rarely go there. To your point: unlike the cafe described in the article, the WiFi in Starbucks in the U.S. is not free. Starbucks has T-Mobile hotspots. And, the article that sparked me to write this week's column was in a U.S. publication, about U.S. cafes. So I think that it has some validity in the U.S. Thanks for thinking that my humor (humour) might be work across borders. I certainly hope so. If not, I probably won't be appearing in MC TNT much longer.

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  • Guest.Visitor
    Guest replied
    There Are No Free Lunch Bits or Bytes

    ** This thread discusses the article: There Are No Free Lunch Bits or Bytes **
    Joe. As a Canadian roaming all over the USA on business, I dont think your analysis would fit south of the border, although your humor might. In Canada we have the Tim Horton's culture, a place where common folks go in freezing weather for a hot cup of very tasty coffee for US $0.80. You wont see many people meeting for business there. The Starbucks culture south of border is different. Lot many people go there for casual business meeting and it aint that cheap and wont taste that good. Coffee shops not offering internet have the same future as hotels not offering internet.

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  • Robert Amell
    replied
    There Are No Free Lunch Bits or Bytes

    ** This thread discusses the article: There Are No Free Lunch Bits or Bytes **
    I live in Central PA. There are several Internet-enabled coffee shops. I think if it wasn't for Internet access, most people would stay home and drink their coffee who are Internet users. I frequesnt Starbucks because their coffee is good. I don't use their Internet access because they are T-mobile hotspots and charge for access. I also frequesnt other coffee shops and besides getting coffee, I will often meet clients there because of having Internet access. Here we can work using the Internet and I wind up buying for the client anyway. I see many others doing the same. Since the majority of US households now have broadband, I see Internet cafes more of a business convenience for the SOHO person like me. Remove the Internet - lose the SOHO business. The cost for the Internet - typically $200 for a router and Verizon will sell shops Interent access for $49/mo. Wow - breaks the bank! Let them remove Internet and see the non-Starbuck coffee shops go out of business! Not a smart move. Buy more tables instead. (BTW - I don't see people waiting for a table even in the smallest shops around central PA) So - can't agree at all with this analysis. Oh yeah - posting this from my desk with my fresh cup of coffee!

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  • MCWebsite.Staff
    started a topic There Are No Free Lunch Bits or Bytes

    There Are No Free Lunch Bits or Bytes

    ** This thread discusses the article: There Are No Free Lunch Bits or Bytes **
    ** This thread discusses the Content article: There Are No Free Lunch Bits or Bytes **
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